hotfoot

American  

[hot-foot] / ˈhɒtˌfʊt /

noun

plural

hotfoots

1. a practical joke in which a match, inserted surreptitiously between the sole and upper of the victim's shoe, is lighted and allowed to burn down.

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verb (used without object)

1. Informal. to go in great haste; walk or run hurriedly or rapidly (often followed byit ).

   to hotfoot it to the bus stop.

adverb

1. with great speed in going; in haste.

hotfoot British  

/ ˈhɒtˌfʊt /

adverb

1. with all possible speed; quickly

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verb

1. to move quickly

Etymology

Origin of hotfoot

1250–1300; Middle English hot fot (adv.). See hot, foot

Example Sentences

So here we are, 20 years after U.S. troops invaded Afghanistan and months since they hotfooted it out.

From Salon

A University of Chicago dropout, she hotfoots it to New York on the strength of a Greyhound hookup.

From New York Times

So Seattle’s grass still looks greener from San Francisco — while people already in Seattle are hotfooting it to the burbs.

From Seattle Times

With no medical appointments until midafternoon, I hotfooted it back to New Hampshire, borrowed a pair of skates, and set out on the ice of my old mill pond.

From New York Times

Washington has been getting poked in the eye, given the hotfoot, had bubble gum put on its hat or had its pants pulled down in public since 1901 by the “national pastime.”

From Washington Post